Driven by strong exports, the Bulgarian economy expanded by 2.5% in the first quarter on an annual basis, well above analysts' forecasts, flash data of the statistics office showed on Friday.
The country's gross domestic product grew by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, following a 0.5% expansion in the previous quarter, downwardly revised from 2.1%.
The data, which marks the first considerable increase in economic growth since the country plunged into a recession, overshoots analysts' forecasts,...

French company Saint-Gobain Weber started Wednesday the construction of its second factory in Bulgaria.
The ground-breaking ceremony for the factory located near Izvorsko village, Aksakovo Municipality, close to Varna, was attended by Bulgaria’s Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev.
The second factory to be built by Saint-Gobain Weber in Bulgaria will also be producing dry construction mixes.
Saint-Gobain Weber entered the Bulgarian market in 2001. In 2004, it opened its...

Determined to consolidate the country’s budget deficit, Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has announced plans to implement a 20% cut in public spending, rather than raising the 20% value-added tax (VAT) rate.
Bowing to fierce opposition from trade unions and business leaders, Bulgaria’s government has finally confirmed its intention to cut public spending rather than to press ahead with controversial proposals to raise taxes. Djankov had also recently threatened his resignation if...

The annual decrease in Bulgaria’s local-currency household deposits was nearly thrice that on consumer loans in July, according to the latest Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) data.
Interest rates have been decreasing for about a year now but on loans they have been decreasing at a lower ate, with only minor changes recorded on monthly bases.
Furthermore, July brought a reduction month-on-month on the interest rates on new lev-denominated and euro-denominated business loans. At the same time,...

Bulgaria is 48th in terms of travel and tourism competitiveness out of 139 countries, according to a report of the World Economic Forum.
The WEF ranking evaluates the countries according to 14 different criteria – from infrastructure and safety to regulatory framework and human, cultural, and natural resources.
Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, and Sweden take up the top five spots. Tunisia and Israel are right in front of Bulgaria, while Turkey and Poland are right after...

International Personal Finance Plc, a U.K. lender that makes unsecured loans to low-income households in central and eastern Europe and Mexico, may start operating in Bulgaria this year.
"Ukraine and Bulgaria are our top priorities," Chief Executive Officer John Harnett said in a telephone interview for Bloomberg agency. "Our focus is on emerging markets and we are trying to find markets that are moving into the growth phase."
International Personal Finance typically makes loans of 200...

The Musala Soft company won the annual "Golden Martenitsa" prize in the "Bulgarian producer" category for its contribution for the development of the country's IT sector.
The high quality of Musala Soft's software services and its high-value-added export were the reasons why the organizers choose it for the prestigious prize. It was presented by Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov and Director of the National Palace of Culture Hristo Drumev to the company's...

Japan's Ambassador to Bulgaria will pay a visit to the town of Yambol on Wednesday to discuss the planned investment of a Japanese company in the construction of a solar power plant there.
The meeting is at the initiative of His Excellency Makoto Ito, the municipality announced.
The Japanese company Toshiba voiced last year plans to invest in construction of solar power plants in the USA and countries in Europe, including Bulgaria.
Toshiba will begin implementing its investment plan...

Bulgaria’s Economy Minister Ttaicho Traikov and Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos opened Saturday a new tobacco processing plant in the Bulgarian town of Sandanski.
About EUR 9,5 M have been invested in the new plant of the Greek Leaf Tobacco company and it will provide jobs for 600 people.
The new facility will be connected to the central production hall of the company in Policastro, Greece.
The plant in Sandanski, which has a production capacity of 4 to 6 tons per...

The Bulgarian office sector faces two major challenges at the same time - the increased supply and the decreased in the demand. Anyway for some investors there is a light in the tunnel - the weak H1 in office rents is expected to be followed by the market stabilization. According to a survey of the international consultancy Colliers International the volume of rented offices in Sofia of 40,000 sq. m in H1 was in fact 20% lower than the same period of 2008 and 30% below the levels of 2007. One...

Scotland Yard detectives have twice visited Bulgaria in three months in a final attempt to solve the murder of Georgi Markov, in which the Bulgarian dissident was jabbed with a poisoned umbrella while waiting for a London bus in 1978.
A team from the Metropolitan police travelled to Sofia in April 2007, then in March this year and again last month, in the hope of identifying the assassin before Bulgaria's 30-year statute of limitation expires in September.
Last night, a spokeswoman...

The Rose Festival in Bulgaria's Kazanlak had its peak point on Sunday. Again, it managed to attract tens of thousands of tourists from Bulgaria and all around the world. According to official information, the last official day the City of Roses and the Valley of the Thracian Kings has hosted 80 thousand visitors. The number for the last three days has reached more than 150 000.
Japanese Shinohara-san could barely hide her admiration. "We are 20 people from Tokyo, we came from Ruse, went...

The French company Malteries Soufflet is acquiring the malt production of Bulgaria's oldest commercial brewery "Kamenitza."
Kamenitza announced Monday they were selling their malt factory in the northern city of Pleven and renting long-term the facility in the southern city of Haskovo to the French business.
The decision is motivated by "the goal of steady growth," and is based on a "strategic assessment of the operations of the Bulgarian company."
The buyer, Malteries Soufflet is part...

Japanese dairy products maker Meiji has expressed interest in investing in Bulgaria’s southwestern region of Petrich, according to a media statement of the Petrich Municipality.
Bulgaria’s Deputy Economy Minister Lyuben Petrov met with representatives of Meiji in Sofia in early March.
Kazuo Kawamura, President of Meiji, will visit Petrich in the period April 7-9 to discuss concrete projects and investment proposals with representatives of the local authorities.
Although the core...